If Garnet were asked about what happened, she would look away and mutter slightly defensively, 'I knew it would happen'.

If Amethyst was asked, she would burst into a fit of giggles, calm down, then burst into giggles again until you asked someone else.

If Pearl was asked, a blush would colour her cheeks and she'd look everywhere and anywhere but your general direction, mumbling under her breath.

If Peridot was asked, she would frown and jut her chin out in a defiant manner, then ask if what had happened was a human custom that she should have known about.

If Mr and Dr Maheswaran were asked, had they known, they would immediately break into a lecture about the dangers and consequences of their actions and ground anyone and everyone, no matter if they could ground them, for 20 years.

If Gregg Universe was asked, he would not answer because he wouldn't be able to hear you with his music blaring in the background as he created songs while the inspiration and the recent events stayed fresh in his mind.

If Steven was asked, his eyes would immediately light up and sparkle and, in a reverent tone with barely contained exaltation, exaggerate the story so much until it was distorted completely and the true story would be lost in flames, explosions and glitter.

To find out what truly happened while staying somewhat on topic, you had to ask Connie, but she had to go home early so you wouldn't know the full story.

So, there was really only one gem left to ask, and that was Lapis Lazuli. Except, she was on the other side of the universe, fearfully cowering and sulking in her barn that she had taken from Earth.

Besides, even if anyone had given the full story, it was so strange and confusing that no one would have been able to provide a consistent explanation, and would fall into a mature and serious and not-at-all-childish 'debate' on who was right.

The aftermath was certainly damaging enough, the sand pockmarked with giant holes and glass, the temple barely holding together with cracks running along its stony surface and not one, but two giant ship sunken a little ways away from the shore.

So what had happened to cause such a stir? It all started on one warm morning…

The sun was shining hot in the sky above them, with a cool breeze wafting along the beach, the temple sitting lazily against the giant cliff and overlooking the relatively calm ocean.

Steven slumped against a stone hand that was randomly jutting out of the sand. In front of him, Garnet and Pearl were building a sand castle so big and grand, it looked like it belonged in a fairytale. Amethyst was napping on a blanket nearby, soaking up the heat that the sun offered.

It was a rare, peaceful afternoon and Steven knew that he SHOULD have been enjoying it, and he SHOULD have been grateful for at least one day without fear of the diamonds crushing their tranquillity and planet, but there was only one thing that was running through his mind, and that was…

'I'm bored.'

At first, he said it slowly, as if he was testing his words out, but when no diamonds suddenly warped onto the beach, guns blazing, he relaxed and repeated his statement more confidently.

'I'm bored.' A pause, then: 'I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, bored, bored!'

He groaned and jumped to his feet. Mind racing, he tried to think of something to entertain himself with. His gaze ran along the beach, snagging on some rocks and seagulls that lay about on the sand. He whirled around, looking for something to do, when his eyes landed on a strangely misshapen rock sticking out of the wet sand that had a striking resemblance to Peridot. However, when a wave washed over it and it disappeared, Steven shrugged and went back to looking around. He knew how hard it would be to find objects lost at sea from when the crystal gems had spent weeks searching for Malachite and knew he stood no chance, especially with his inability to breathe underwater.

That strangely misshapen rock had actually indeed been Peridot. Thanks to the relative peace that had fallen over the beach, Peridot had decided to use this as a chance to record the strange happenings of the human race. She had extensive knowledge of all things gems, and could recite the gem code in her sleep, backwards, 'thou shalt not fuse with other gems, thou shalt not crack other gems, thou shalt remain forever loyal and subservient to thy diamonds, thy grand and supreme rulers…'. However, when she had arrived on Earth, she found herself falling further and further away from the prideful knowledge she had built up about her homeworld and became conscious of the depth of ignorance she had concerning her immediate surroundings, namely the humans.

This had prompted her to start making and recording observations on the recording device given to her by Steven. Since her valuable meep morps had been taken away by Lapis, Peridot had found herself with an abundant amount of time, especially on this quiet day and had decided to follow up on her previous vow and observe Steven, who she thought was a prime example of the human species. Of course, it was not at all because she was just bored and felt a little neglected after Lapis's departure. Yes, it was only because she wanted to have a more widespread knowledge about humans.

Anyway, Peridot had followed (read: stalked) Steven all morning and had so far found not a lot to comment on. All Steven had done was walk around the beach and sit on the sand. Peridot was becoming restless (read: bored) and had almost been caught as a result. She was grateful to the waves and resolved to give it a present later, as customary in human tradition when thankful for something. When Peridot looked to Steven again after giving a quick, but deep bow to the ocean, she saw that something had caught his eye.

Another perusal of the sandy expanse found Steven an abandoned volleyball that had somehow rolled off the cliff, bounced down the temple and lurched to a stop just before his feet. His mind was still marvelling at the incredible journey the volleyball must have taken to get to this spot and the extraordinarily small chances of it coming before him, so it took a moment for him to realise the golden opportunity that it presented. A short squeal later had all of the crystal gems' eyes on him. Another dozen or so squeals with lots of bouncing up and down later, Steven finally got ready to explain his idea.

'Guys! I just had the best idea! What if…' Steven dragged out the 'if' in what he hoped was a suspenseful pause, but quickly continued when the gems just stared at him blankly, '…we had a beach party!'

He held out the ball as if saying 'ta-da!' and looked expectantly at their faces. When none of them reacted immediately, Steven's faced drooped slightly. Thanks to the gems' amazing observational skills, they saw Steven's mood change for the worse. They reacted immediately.

'Oh no, Steven, we'd LOVE to have a beach party, wouldn't we, Amethyst.' Pearl was the first to react and discreetly nudged (read: kicked) Amethyst in the ribs to get her to play along.

'Oh,' a grunt escaped Amethyst but she quickly caught on and said, if a little strained, 'Oh, yeah, definitely, we should totally have a... beach party! When do you want it, Steven? Tomorrow? Next week?'

Steven shook his head twice, 'I want one now!'

Pearl spluttered, her eyes widening in shock, 'But- but- we can't have one now! Garnet, tell him!'

Garnet simply 'hmm'ed noncommittally. When it was apparent Garnet wasn't going to say anything, Pearl whipped her head back to Steven. She seemed to have recovered from her initial shock and took calm, relaxing breaths.

'Steven, I know you are bored, I know there hasn't been much activity lately, but we can't become complacent! For all we know, the diamonds might be on their way to Earth right now! Then who knows what would happen to us!' she said soothingly, albeit a little hysterically.

Somewhere on a ship a few star systems away, Yellow Diamond sneezed vehemently. She was confused, what was a sneeze? A quick check of her gem showed her no cracks, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

'Get back to your work!' she yelled when she caught the look on her Pearl's face.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Steven stood stubbornly against Pearl's frantic persuasion. Amethyst, on the other hand, was warming up to Pearl's frazzled state.

'Yeah, Pearl, let's have a party. Why would the diamonds be on their way to Earth now? We should just let loose and relax for a bit! All of this waiting around's made me hungry. We can, like, celebrate not being destroyed! Or Steven's birthday in five months,' internally, Amethyst laughed when Pearl visibly became more flustered.

In the menagerie, Blue Diamond sneezed, then continued crying.

In a last feeble attempt to dissuade Steven, Pearl waved offhandedly, but elegantly, to the sand castles behind her, 'We- we were making our sand castles though!'

There was a long pause. Even Pearl cringed at her own weak excuse.

'Ugh fine,' Pearl acquiesced with crossed arms and an unladylike snort. A small smile played about her lips, however, when she saw Steven's obvious delight.